Ashen Maulers
The Ashen Maulers, known among themselves as the Cult of Stekontig, are a warband of the Lost and the Damned that specifically worships the Slaaneshi Daemon Prince Stekontig. Unlike many Slaanesh cults, the Ashen Maulers dispense with all of the twisted parody of decency or civility typically found most among Slaanesh worshippers like the Emperor's Children. Instead they are unabashed murderers and torturers, kidnapping entire planetary populations and subjecting them to horrors beyond comprehension by all save perhaps the most depraved among the Drukhari. Unlike the Dark Eldar, however, they have no excuse for their actions. They serve no purpose, no overarching goal, no deeper meaning--their object of worship doesn't even specifically demand it of them. The depredations of the Ashen Maulers are committed for no higher purpose than satisfying their own twisted, sadistic impulses. Warband History Origins Vicor IV was a luxurious pleasure world, a paradise almost unparalleled in all of the Imperium... at least for its noble visitors. For those who actually lived on and maintained the world, however, it was a life of unending hard labor, thankless servitude, and abuse from their so-called "betters." For Dark Apostle Pontius of the Knights of Laeran, it was almost too easy to sow the seeds of heresy among the populace and drive them into open revolt in the name of Slaanesh. In response, Colonel Kaspar Vektaris of the Ashimar 30th Nova Guard was deployed to the planet with his full force to quash the rebellion and restore order. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, the rest of the Knights of Laeran's main force was just beginning to make planetfall. Despite the daunting prospect of facing a warband of Heretic Astartes, the Guardsmen of the Ashimar 30th were committed to restoring the Emperor's peace. As the fighting intensified, a seemingly unremarkable Cultist achieved apotheosis in the middle of the battle, becoming a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh. This being, in mortal life, was an Administratum menial assigned to Vicor IV known as "Steve, from Accounting" who appeared unremarkable on the surface, but was in fact secretly the world's most infamous serial killer. When the Knights of Laeran invaded the world, he and his fellow Chaos Cultists rose up to aid them, and in the process Steve managed to earn his 666,666th kill. Upon achieving this, he immediately ascended to Daemonhood. Those non-Astartes who witnessed his daemonic rebirth, including the vast majority of Ashimar Nova Guard they were fighting, were immediately enthralled and swore fealty to him. The first thing the newly ascended Daemon Prince, now calling itself "Stekontig", ordered his new minions to do was mob Dark Apostle Pontius and tear him limb from limb, eliminating the most likely challenger to his authority. Afraid that he would lose control of his entire warband to this newly ascended being, the leader of the Knights of Laeran, Lord Gaius, immediately withdrew all of his surviving Heretic Astartes and what few Cultists he still had control of. In a matter of hours, the Imperial forces were destroyed, the Imperial Navy vessels that had brought the Nova Guard were stolen, and the Cult of Stekontig was free to ravage any Imperial world they came across. Present Ever since, the Cult has ravaged every undefended world or vulnerable ship they've come across, as well as attacking their former comrades among the Ashimar Nova Guard whenever they're vulnerable. While they never openly declare themselves, or even communicate with others outside their cult, one of the barely intelligible words they often shout in battle is "Ashimar", in reference to their origins. During one of their first incursions, survivors misinterpreted the word as the cultists identifying themselves as the "Ashen Maulers," and the name has been their official designation in Inquisition records ever since. While it's highly unlikely that these Ashen Maulers have any true goal or strategy, experts have noticed that they gradually appear to be making progress in the general direction of Ashimar, presumably to ravage their former home world. Warband Organisation Other than some key leaders, the Ashen Maulers have almost no consistent organization whatsoever. Portions of corrupted Imperial Guard or Imperial Navy will enforce vestiges of their original command structure onto those they're strong enough to bully into it, but for the most part the warband stays together solely out of mutual self-interest. Infighting for position is common, and rather than preventing it, Admiral Falcor merely insists that they take such conflicts onto the nearest habitable celestial body rather than damage any of his ships. In such a way the weak are weeded out and the bored are satiated until they can find a fresh target. Whenever Stekontig manifests among them, however, all of this aggression is set aside momentarily while they follow their master in ravaging whatever target he brings them to. Warband Combat Doctrine The Ashen Maulers rarely uses overly complex strategies, as they only engage foes strong enough to require actual tactics when absolutely necessary. Those among their number who are former members of the Imperial Guard can usually pull it off when needed, however, and can operate their Leman Russ tanks while forming ranged infantry lines to protect them. Meanwhile, the less disciplined Cultists and Chaos Spawn charge the enemy to keep them at range. When Stekontig himself takes the field with them, he will guide the charging hordes himself with his personal harem of Daemonettes at his side. In any event, the warband only engages in true military campaigns when absolutely necessary, preferring instead to strike at vulnerable targets when they are available and move on in search of easy prey when they aren't. Warband Recruitment The vast majority of the cultists making up the Ashen Maulers come from raiding relatively undefended worlds and kidnapping anyone they can. Few survive the unspeakable things these cultists will do to them, but those who do will inevitably be simultaneously traumatized and corrupted by the experience. Once their sanity is sufficiently broken, they're given a gun and some blades and are thrown into the horde with everyone else. The more disciplined of the warband, those who actually direct their carnage and operate their ships and vehicles, are those among the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy who have been recruited in a similar manner. While their sanity might be shattered, their military training and experience remain, allowing them to direct those with less experience and keep the cult just barely coherent enough to be a devastating threat. Notable Warband Members Warband Leaders Stekontig: Daemon Prince of Slaanesh, and obviously the object of the cult's worship. In general he doesn't particularly care about his mortal followers, simply using them to give him opportunities to indulge his many, many vices. The closest he comes to coordinating with his minions is manifesting to inspire them and appearing on the battlefield to cause mayhem among the enemy when the mood strikes him. In general, the cult's leaders work more around their master than truly for him, at least when doing anything other than presenting him with offerings or performing ritual sacrifices to appease him. Colonel Kaspar Vektaris: The true master of the Ashen Maulers, Colonel Kaspar Vektaris was once the leader of the Ashimar 30th Nova Guard until he witnessed Stekontig's apotheosis in person. Now he is the de facto leader of the Ashen Maulers... or at least as close to one as such an force can have. In truth he can only command those among the horde who once served in the Imperial Guard or Imperial Navy. The rest of the cult can only be vaguely herded at best. Nevertheless, Colonel Vektaris is a master of finding ways to exploit the self-interest of his troops to take on targets that might otherwise be impenetrable. That said, despite his intelligence, he is no less bestial and degenerate than the forces he leads, and any time his strategic mind isn't necessary in a situation he will be nearly indistinguishable from his minions at first glance. Admiral Derivus Falcor: A former Admiral of the Imperial Navy, his Battlefleet was the first to be commandeered by Stekontig and his worshippers. He was famous for his masterful use of Nova Cannons, making up for their lack of accuracy with overlapping barrages capable of devastating fleets several times their size from ranges further than most other Imperial Navy Battlefleets can handle. Despite being deceived into losing his fleet, this was the first major mistake of an otherwise spotless naval career... but it only takes one mistake to set one down the road of damnation. Tortured and mutilated until his mind broke, the once heroic Admiral now ferries an insatiable horde of howling madmen onto unsuspecting, undefended worlds. Others Elvira Wraith: A renegade witch who was once a loyal servant of the Knights of Laeran. Beatrix was always in an awkward place on Laera, as she chaffed under Gaius's "One Law of Laeran" due to her addiction to causing fear and crushing hope in helpless victims. However, as a powerful psyker Gaius was hesitant to throw her life away as he usually does to those like her. As soon as Stekontig ascended to Daemonhood on the battlefield, Beatrix saw her opportunity and convinced the Cultists with her to abandon the Knights of Laeran in favor of the newly formed Cult of Stekontig. Warband Fleet Once the Ashimar 30th Nova Guard was brought under Staeom'kontieg's control, they deceived the Battlefleet that brought them to the battle into allowing them back aboard and took over their ships. * 6 Victory Class Battleships * 6 Mercury Class Battlecruiser * 12 Dominator Class Cruisers * 40 Escort Squads In addition to these ships, the fleet includes a constantly fluctuating number of Light Cruisers stolen from the Imperial Navy (and occasionally other Chaos warbands,) usually between 40 and 50. These ships are destroyed and replaced so regularly that both the Inquisition and the warband itself has stopped bothering to track them all. The totals listed below are general averages, rather than fixed numbers. * 30 Dauntless Class Light Cruisers * 10 Endeavor Class Light Cruisers * 5 Endurance Class Light Cruisers * 5 Defiant Class Light Cruisers Relations Feel free to add your own Allies * None. Not even themselves. Feel free to add your own Enemies * Ashimar Nova Guard * Knights of Laeran * Forge World Ferunus Notable Quotes By the Ashen Maulers About the Ashen Maulers Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Warband Category:Slaanesh